There are many great colleges and universities in America. The best one by far is the College of Hard Knocks, usually located near you during times of struggle or failure. It is called hard knocks because occasionally life isn’t easy or fair. The greatest lessons in life generally come at these times. Once in a while, it takes a hard knock to jolt us back into reality or turn us away from the wrong path so we can jump back on the right path.
One of my important life lessons came while I was in basic training at Fort Ord, California. My drill sergeant had wisdom beyond his rank. One day on the rifle range, one of my shots completely missed the target. The drill sergeant came over to see what caused me to miss the target. Feeling embarrassed, I told the sergeant there was something wrong with my gun. He took it from me, inspected it thoroughly, and handed it back to me. He said: “You’re right, private, there is something wrong with your gun. It’s the nut behind the butt plate!”
